By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Allegations of Kerala's Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) headquarters here using more than the land allotted to it reached the state assembly Friday, with the party admitting that it had received complaints of encroachment.
The opposition Congress party has for some time been alleging that the CPI-M headquarters is encroaching upon the property of Kerala University.
Replying to a question in the assembly, State Education Minister M.A. Baby said the government had received complaints of encroachment.
"According to a land survey done of the Kerala University Campus, it has only 16.87 acres as opposed to the 17.66 acres it is supposed to have. But the university has not said anything," Baby, a member of the CPI-M, said in a written reply to a question by Congress members.
In 1977, then chief minister A.K. Antony had given 33 cents of land to the CPI-M to build their party office. Later, they were given 15 cents of land from Kerala University, right next to the previously allotted land.
The Congress, however, has been repeatedly alleging that the CPI-M has taken up more than the allotted 15 cents for its office. There were demands that the area occupied by the party office be measured.
CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan had denied these allegations last month but at the same time was not in favour of the party office being measured.